


Prince Arthur and Little Merlin

by atributetotheclassicmovies



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, Dorks in Love, First Time, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Little Merlin, Little Merlin likes Arthur to hold him, M/M, Magic Revealed, Merlin becomes a little kid, Protective!Arthur, like a lot XD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-17 07:51:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11271246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atributetotheclassicmovies/pseuds/atributetotheclassicmovies
Summary: Arthur needed to take care of Merlin, who accidentally turned into a four-year-old, while tried to find the cure. Complications ensued, and Arthur could no longer hide his true feelings for Merlin.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the opening, Arthur and Merlin will come out to meet you immediately in the next chapter XD

In a deep forest far away from Camelot, where human activities were almost non-existence, there was a dark cave. Inside, it was cold, and the sound of water dripping echoed through the narrow passage. Marks of the old religion were written all over stonewalls. At the end of the cave, there was a well. A tall figure wearing a black hood and cape was standing behind it, the hood shadowing her features. Her fingers brushed lightly over the surface of the water, which slowly immerged an image of Camelot. 

She leaned forward a little, then the image turned into a spacious chamber inside the castle, decorated with delicate handcraft furniture, clearly a room belonged to a person of royal standing. The image gradually traced over the room and finally landed on a handsome young man with golden hair, who was sleeping on a big, fluffy bed peacefully. Her mouth twitched slightly upward and muttered something unintelligible as the image focused more on the young man. 

“Mistress?” A soft whisper coming from behind, but the woman did not turn her head. 

A man, slightly shorter with brownish clothing held a bowl of soup appeared. 

“Mistress?” He called again. This time a little bit louder. 

The image in the water disappeared and she flapped the water frustratingly, making it splashed over the edge of the well. 

“Didn’t I tell you not to disturb me when I’m busy?” 

The man stepped backward a few steps and stammered. 

“So… sorry, mistress, you haven’t eaten for days, and I thought…” 

She widened her eyes in fury and shouted. 

“Get out!” 

“Yes, mistress.” 

The servant put down the bowl of soup and quickly retreated, almost tripping over a rock on the ground. The woman took a deep breath and turned back to resume her work.

 

The woman appeared after a few hours in front of her servant. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t lose my temper. You’ve always been a loyal servant.” 

“I understood, mistress, you don’t need to apologize.” 

Before he could utter any words to reassure her, she interrupted. 

“My plan is going smoothly, soon enough, Arthur Pendragon will be in my hand,” She smirked. “as a four-year-old child that is, and I’ll kill him with my bare hand, then smear his blood on the altar, to revenge for what Uther Pendragon had done to my own son!” 

Her eyes were full of fury, and her voice was deadly. “Then my boy can finally rest in peace.” 

She turned back to her servant. 

“Prepare the horses, we’re leaving for Camelot immediately.”


	2. Little Merlin

“Merlin, get ready, we’re going on a hunt.” 

“Now?” 

Merlin looked incredulous as he helped Arthur laced up his tunic. 

“Yes, now.” 

“How about lunch?” He grunted. 

“We’ll pack it and eat it on the way.” 

Arthur felt like hunting today, though they had just gone on hunting with several knights the day before yesterday. 

Truth to be told, he didn’t like to go with a group of people, because more people tended to make more noises, and they often ended up scaring the beasts away. So today, he would go alone. Well, not exactly alone, but with his manservant Merlin, he would always bring Merlin. Even though Arthur teased him constantly and mocked him as being stupid, he secretly enjoyed Merlin’s company very much. Only when he was with Merlin did he feel at ease, but of course he would never admit that out loud. 

His father would be furious if he knew that his son didn’t take any guards with him to protect him, but Arthur never listened to him, he wanted to be free and besides, he was trained to fight and kill since birth, there was really nothing he was afraid of. 

His musing was caught short when he found Merlin staring at him, an amused expression on his face. 

“What?” Arthur snapped, feeling his face heated up. 

“Nothing, just that you’re daydreaming again that’s all.” 

Arthur shrugged. “Yeah, well, go pack some lunch…” 

“Prepare the horses, go get the crossbow…” Merlin continued before he could finish. 

Arthur raised his eyebrows and nodded in approval. 

“You’re finally starting to learn something, Merlin.” 

Merlin rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever. I don’t understand what’s the purpose of hunting, I mean, it’s not like you need to go hunting in order to get food or something. It doesn’t make any sense to corner then to kill the poor animals.” 

“Shut up, Merlin. Another word you’ll be my dinner tonight instead!” 

Merlin put all the stuff inside his backpack and laughed. 

“I don’t think I’ll be delicious, I’m all skin and bone!” 

“Oh, just shut up, Merlin!” 

Arthur chuckled as he put on his boots.

 

After a few hours of struggle, Arthur gave up. It was a fruitless hunt today. He spotted a deer, but missed the shot. He knew it was because he was distracted. 

Merlin’s previous words on the purpose of hunting kept coming back to him. Arthur supposed he had a point. He didn’t need to hunt in order to get his supper, so what was the purpose of hunting down defenseless animals? But it was what his father and all the other royals did. It was like a tradition, a habit, just something that seemed to be natural, something that he should do and enjoyed. 

He scratched his head, ever since Merlin came into his life, the little shit started to question a lot of things he had held absolutely true before. He felt disrespectful at first, but now, it was actually quite refreshing. 

He heard a loud thud from behind, and turned around seeing Merlin spread out, face down, and all their stuff scattered around the grass. 

“Can you be more useless?” Arthur teased. 

Merlin left his head. The poor boy had mud all over his face. 

“I’m tired.” 

Arthur sighed and went to pick up the things beside him. 

“Let’s get some rest here.” 

Merlin stumbled to his feet and joined Arthur. When they finally settled down, he asked Merlin to pick up some woods. 

Arthur sat down on the grass and stretched out his legs. The sky was getting dimmer now, and they should be getting back to the castle soon. He closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air. Even though he hadn’t been able to hunt any animals today, he felt calm and relaxing to be able to get away from his princely duties even for only a brief afternoon. 

He suddenly heard the leaves ruffled behind him. 

“Merlin?” He asked without opening his eyes. 

Expecting his manservant’s cheerful reply, all he heard was more ruffled noises. 

He immediately went on alert, and reached for his sword slowly then turned around. 

There was no one there. 

Arthur looked more closely, nothing. But something in the back of his mind still told him that things were not right and he shouldn’t let down his guard. 

“Show yourself!” Arthur shouted, holding his sword tighter. 

“Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther Pendragon, nice to finally meet you.” 

A woman got down from the horse and walked towards him. There was also another man, helping her holding the horses. It was obvious that he was her servant. 

The woman slowly approached him. Her steps light as a feather. 

Arthur couldn’t make out her features, with her hood casting a shadow on her face. 

“Who are you?” He narrowed his eyes. “Show yourself!” 

“So eager.” The woman smirked and put down her hood. 

Tall, dark long hair, she looked young, but there was something ancient about her that Arthur wasn’t sure how to describe. She seemed to know him very well, but he didn’t think he had ever seen her before. He debated over whether he should put his sword down, but settled on his side in the end. 

“I’m here to collect you, Arthur Pendragon. I would love to see how Uther Pendragon will react when he knows that his only son, his only heir, was kidnapped and killed.” She smiled viciously. 

He didn’t need further details to know that this was yet another person who sought revenge for his father’s deed. Before he could react, he felt his sword dropped to the floor. Her eyes flashed gold, then his whole body suddenly became paralyzed. Arthur panicked and felt his body slowly floated up a few inches above the ground. He tried to struggle, but the only thing he was capable of was moving his eyeballs. 

Nevertheless, there was another matter that was more urgent to him, and that was Merlin. 

For the first time, Arthur really hoped he would actually abandon his duties and went off dozing somewhere, because the last thing he wanted to see was Merlin ended up getting hurt or even killed. It was sort of funny, but he always had this strong protective instinct towards his clumsy manservant. 

However, it was all too late. 

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Merlin appeared behind them, eyes wide and dropped all the woods in his arms. Arthur tried to shout and told him to go and hide, but there was nothing he could do now. 

The woman closed her eyes and began to utter a spell, and smoke started to form around the forest. 

Everything happened so fast, the only thing Arthur knew was that he heard Merlin shouted his name and ran in front of him in order to shield him from the spell, then the light struck and everything turned white, before Arthur felt himself being dropped to the ground heavily. 

After like a lifetime, Arthur slowly opened his eyes and groaned. His body itched everywhere. 

He looked around; he was still at the same place, though the woman and her servant were nowhere to be seen. Arthur slowly supported himself up and looked around for Merlin, but all he could see was a pile of Merlin’s clothes in front of him. 

“Merlin?” 

Apparently, his idiot servant had saved his life and was dead? Gone? Captured? 

He breathed in and out deeply, trying to compose himself, and why had Merlin’s clothes being left behind? 

Arthur looked around trying desperately to locate his servant. It was when he heard a soft whimper coming from the pile of clothes did he walk towards them. 

“Merlin?” Arthur frowned. 

This was ridiculous. Why was Merlin’s clothes making noises? 

Then there was a tiny shuffled movement under the clothes. Arthur picked up his sword and got closer, flipping the clothes open with one swift move. 

“Merlin?” Arthur called again. 

There was a little kid in the heap of clothes! 

He looked about four-year-old, with black, slightly curled hair, pale skin, and red full lips. 

“No, it couldn’t be.” 

Arthur murmured to himself in shock as he approached the child. 

Merlin had turned into a little kid! 

His brain went blank all of a sudden. He never had a younger brother or sister for him to look after for, and he was never a big fan of small children, also the fact that this was actually Merlin made everything even more complicated. Arthur thought he was going to faint. 

It was only because of the small whimpers coming from little Merlin did Arthur come back to his senses. He kneeled down and checked him. Merlin’s forehead was hot, and his face was red. He had a fever. Sweat was streaming down his forehead, and Merlin groaned painfully. 

“It’s okay, Merlin, I’m here.” Arthur said softly and touched the boy’s forehead awkwardly. 

He then ripped a strip of his tunic and wet it with water. 

He carefully placed the cool cloth on Merlin’s forehead and the moaning instantly softened. He wasn’t sure how long Merlin could stay alive like this, not with that powerful magic probably still lingered inside Merlin’s body. 

Arthur went to prepare his horse, and came back to gather him into his arms as well as the clothes that were now way too big for him. Arthur cradled Merlin in one arm securely, the other held the reins and rode back to the castle as fast as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think! Hope it's at least moderately intriguing so far and you want to know what will happen next :)


	3. The Totem

After arriving at the castle, Arthur quickly carried Merlin inside his chamber without sparing even one glance to the guards. He wasn’t sure why he acted like a thief in his own place. Perhaps he just didn’t want to let anyone know about Merlin’s current state. 

The guards outside of his chamber were trustworthy and Arthur believed they wouldn’t utter a word. The knights would also keep the secret, and certainly Morgana and her maid, Gwen. 

What he was afraid of was his father. Normally, the king never cared about what he did in his free time, as long as he completed his princely duties and be discreet. But once in a while, Arthur would hear him questioning why he was spending so much time or cared so much about a lowly servant boy; Arthur would always just shrug it off and changed into another topic. If his father knew about Merlin turning into a little child, he would have an excuse to ask Arthur to dismiss him, and if he refused to do so, Uther would probably do it himself. Arthur shuddered at the thought; he would never let that happen to Merlin. 

He left the bed cover and gently placed Merlin onto the bed. He was still burning, so Arthur changed the cloth on Merlin’s forehead, discarded his previous clothing on the floor and covered the child up. He needed to find Gaius, and the experienced physician might be able to turn Merlin back. 

Without further delay, Arthur ran to Gaius’ chamber, scaring the old man who was preparing for some sort of potion. 

“Sire!” He said and dropped the glass bottle onto the floor. 

“I’m sorry… Gaius, I’m sorry, I…” 

Arthur tried to explain, but he was breathless from all the running. 

“It’s alright, Arthur, calm down. What’s going on?” 

“It’s, it’s Merlin!” He finally blurted out. 

“What…” 

Before Gaius could finish, Arthur already got hold of his arm and dragged him out of the door. 

“Sire, wait, slow down…” 

But Arthur was too anxious and worried to slow down. They arrived at the prince’s chamber in no time. Gaius steadied himself against the doorframe and Arthur still tried to catch his breath. 

“Merlin…” He pointed towards the bed breathing hard. 

Gaius slowly walked over to the bed and widened his eyes. He immediately stared up at Arthur. 

“Sire, wha… what… happened to Merlin?” 

It was extremely comical to see the usually composed Gaius losing his composure, but Arthur had no time entertained the idea. He dragged a chair for Gaius and recounted everything, or at least the parts which he was aware of. In the meantime, Gaius checked on Merlin and told Arthur that the fever would soon be gone, no need to worry. 

“Is there a cure which we can turn Merlin back?” 

Gaius frowned and Arthur felt his heart sunk. 

“When I was checking on him, I saw a unique symbol on his chest.” 

Gaius left the corner of the sheet and revealed a small triangle totem on Merlin’s chest. 

“This symbol belongs to the old religion, an old family which I thought was destroyed during the Great Pruge, apparently not.” Gaius looked down at little Merlin. “I can try to mix some potion for him, but I can’t promise anything.” 

He took out a little bottle in his bag. “Give this to Merlin when he wakes up.” 

Before he left, he turned back to Arthur. 

“Please take care of him, sire, Merlin will need you even more now.” 

Arthur nodded. He knew Merlin was like a son to him. 

“You have my words.” 

 

After Gaius left, Arthur settled down beside Merlin. His fever had faded significantly and was now sleeping peacefully. Arthur gently smoothed back the black hair that was sticking out in all directions and looked at Merlin with a loving smile on his face. 

He always joked that Merlin was stupid and ugly, but he never meant a single word of what he had said. In fact, he was probably the most good-looking man Arthur had ever seen. He wasn’t the tradition handsome type; he was delicate with slightly curled raven hair, deep blue eyes, prominent cheekbones, red full lips, and slender figure, a classic beauty type of man. Even as a little kid, Arthur could tell that he would soon grow into a beautiful person. 

Merlin shifted his little body slightly and his hand landed on Arthur’s arm. He chuckled and picked up his arm, it was thin and the fingers were slender, just like the ones Merlin had when he was an adult. 

Arthur held on to his hand and thought how relaxing the boy looked. He had caught Merlin’s sleeping face once or twice when they camped out at night, and it was surprising that even as a grown-up, who had seen plenty of horrible things, could still have this kind of innocent and pure look. Arthur’s mind wavered between worrying about whether Merlin would be able to turn back and being content lying with him on the bed. 

Finally, his eyelids slowly became heavy and he fell asleep lacing his fingers with Merlin’s.


	4. Artie

“Artie, Artie, wake up!” 

Arthur groaned when he felt something soft pushed against him. He turned to the other side trying to get away from that something which was disturbing his sleep. 

“Artie!!” 

Something, no, someone, was pulling at his tunic, and Arthur impatiently pushed the hand away. Then he felt that thing landed heavily on his body, which made him snapped open his eyes in surprise. 

A little boy, no, Merlin, was smiling at him and the smile turned wider when he saw Arthur finally opened his eyes. 

“Artie!” 

Merlin hugged him tightly and buried his little body into Arthur’s strong and muscular one. He was temporarily startled but returned the hug nonetheless. Arthur slowly sat up on the bed, his eyes immediately narrowed when the bright sunlight coming through the curtains. He must have forgotten to close the curtains, that was usually Merlin’s job. 

Merlin was currently bouncing up and down beside him, looking perfectly healthy and energetic. Arthur frowned and reached out to touch Merlin’s forehead just to make sure. The fever was gone and there was no apparent illness on him. 

He continued to smile his cheeky smile at him when Arthur suddenly found that Merlin was completely naked. He blushed. He shouldn’t get shy in front of a naked four-year-old, but Arthur’s mind kept conjuring images of a naked adult Merlin in front of him. He shook off the thought. Merlin seemed to be oblivious towards his own nakedness. Arthur took off his tunic and put it on him. It was obvious oversized, but maybe he could use a belt to hold it on until he got hold of some of the children’s clothes. 

Merlin wiggled and giggled when he tried to put the shirt on him. It was hard because the little boy turned over and slid down under the cover before Arthur could catch him. 

“Come on, Merlin, I have no time for this.” 

It must had been the tone of his voice, but Merlin came out under the cover and obediently and let Arthur slid down the tunic. Arthur got down the bed and grabbed another tunic draped over the screen and put it on while debating whether he should go get breakfast himself and brought it back to Merlin. But he really didn’t want to keep Merlin alone, so in the end he decided to call George, another servant, who was the complete opposite of Merlin, to get their breakfast. George was a boring person but a professional undeniably; Arthur trusted him not to tell what he had seen in the prince’s chamber. 

“Merlin, are you hungry?” 

Arthur turned around, not exactly surprised to see that Merlin had already taken off the tunic. 

He narrowed his eyes and warned. “Merlin.” 

“But it’s itchy, Artie.” Merlin’s face fell and whined. 

“Put it on.” 

He pouted and put on the tunic reluctantly. Arthur tried to hide his chuckles at the fact that he thought angry little Merlin was one of the most adorable sights ever. 

As he had expected, George brought in two sets of breakfast and didn’t even raise an eyebrow when he saw a little kid peeking out behind Arthur. 

 

Arthur watched little Merlin happily devoured his food, so he pushed his plate towards him. 

“Artie, aren’t you hungry?” The little boy asked cocking his head to aside. 

“Not really, go on with it.” 

He had enough troubles to worry about that he didn’t feel the slightest bit of hunger. He only wished Gaius could find a cure as soon as possible, if not, he would have to think about some other ways to deal with Merlin’s problem. Of course, there was no doubt Arthur would take care of him, but he had so many other duties to attend to. And as a little kid now, Merlin could no longer accompany Arthur anywhere he went. The thought made him dismayed. Maybe Gaius could babysit Merlin? Or Gwen? 

Spoke about Gwen, Arthur really needed her to make some clothes for Merlin. So as soon as Merlin was finished, licking his greasy fingers contently, Arthur took him to Morgana’s room, seeking out for her maid. 

Gwen was arranging Morgana’s bed when the two entered. Merlin immediately hid behind Arthur when Gwen turned around. 

“Oh, good morning, sire.” 

“Good morning, Gwen, may I ask you a favor?” 

“Anything you need, Arthur.” She gave him a smile. 

There was a sound of clothes ruffling behind him. 

“What’s that noise behind you?” She frowned. 

“Oh, it’s…” 

Arthur turned his head and guided Merlin out of his back. The little boy nervously twisted the corner of Arthur’s tunic. 

“Merlin, do you remember Gwen?” 

Merlin looked at Gwen, then back to Arthur and nodded. 

“Merlin?” Gwen’s mouth fell open in disbelief. 

She immediately kneeled down in front of Merlin and took his hands. 

“Arthur, what happened?” 

Arthur scratched his hair and sighed. “It’s kind of complicated…” 

She looked at Merlin’s way-too-big tunic and shook her head. 

“I’ll find something first, then I’ll make some clothes for him.” 

“That’s exactly what I’m here to ask you for…” 

But before he could finish, he heard the voice of his older sister Morgana coming from the hallway. 

“Gwen?” 

She almost bumped into Arthur who was standing close beside the door. 

“Oh, Arthur.” 

“Hello, Morgana.” 

She looked around her chamber detecting that she had interrupted something. Then she saw the little black-haired boy standing beside her maid. 

“What’s going on? Who’s that?” 

Gwen looked at Arthur and he cleared his throat to announce. 

“It’s Merlin.” 

" _Merlin???_ ”

Her voice became extremely high when she walked closer. 

“Oh my god, it’s really Merlin!! What happened?” 

Arthur felt slightly annoyed that he needed to recount the weird event again, but found Morgana didn’t really concentrate on what he was going to say when she pulled Merlin on her lap and ruffled his hair fondly. 

“Oh, he is such an adorable little thing!” 

Merlin was soon giggling with the two girls, all his previous shyness was gone. 

He seemed to start enjoying being the center of their attentions. Arthur looked at the trio and wondered why he felt a bit of jealousy. He was definitely not jealous of Merlin… Was he jealous of Morgana and Gwen, because Arthur was not the only one who could make Merlin laugh like that? Arthur rolled his eyes. He was being stupid. 

The slight discomfort was still there, but when Merlin turned towards him and his smile brightened up even more, Arthur found him smiling too, all his previous negative thoughts were immediately gone.

 

That evening, while Arthur was going through some official documents and Merlin was playing a wooden toy wearing clothes Gwen had borrowed from a neighbor who had kids, Gaius walked in with a bottle of green liquid in hand. Merlin put down his toy and ran to him. 

“Uncle Gaius!” 

Gaius patted his head affectionately and turned back to Arthur. 

“Sire, this potion might work, we need to let Merlin try it.” 

Arthur stood up immediately. “Of course.” 

Gaius sat the bottle down on the table, while Arthur picked Merlin up and sat him on his lap. Merlin pouted and looked at Arthur. The liquid not only looked unappealing, but it also had a weird, stinky smell. 

“Do I really have to drink this?” 

“Yes.” Arthur replied matter-of-factly. 

“But I’m not sick.” He protested, wiggling on Arthur’s lap. 

“Merlin, be a good boy and drink it.” Gaius said firmly. 

“You heard what Uncle Gaius said, Merlin.” 

“Okay.” 

The little boy looked at the two adults, knowing he had no other option. 

Arthur picked up the bottle and Merlin reluctantly opened his mouth. He had the funniest expression Arthur had ever seen when he swallowed down the liquid. Then he stuck out his tongue. 

“This is disgusting!” 

But neither Gaius nor Arthur paid any attention to him. Arthur asked Gaius anxiously on how long would the potion take effect. His reply was immediately. 

However, nothing had happened, instead, Merlin started hiccupping. Both of them were disappointed. 

“I’ll try to make something else later.” Gaius lowered his head, as if he had failed the prince and Merlin. “The magic is powerful.” 

“It’s alright, Gaius.” 

Arthur put Merlin down and Gaius left them after bidding them goodnight. Arthur paced around the room restlessly while Merlin stood in the middle, hiccupping and wondering what was going on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk to me about Merthur or another other things you like on Tumblr! My username is also atributetotheclassicmovies :)


	5. Bedtime Story

Arthur quickly got used to having little Merlin following him around. He wasn’t a difficult child to take care of, to be honest. He seldom cried, always smiling. It was easy to make him happy; Arthur discovered that very soon when Merlin held out his arms and asked Arthur to hug him. He wasn’t too surprised at his action. As an adult, Merlin often tried to seek out hugs from him, and he regretted that he always denied him. Arthur wasn’t a big fan of cuddling, but he actually loved holding Merlin and watching him fell asleep. The only thing that troubled Arthur was when he bathed him. He was so small and delicate, and Arthur was so afraid that he might accidentally hurt him or even break one or two of his bones. He thought of asking one of the servants to bathe him, but he didn’t trust anyone, and he didn’t particularly like the idea of someone touching his Merlin so intimately. 

 

After Arthur finished bathing Merlin and tugged him securely in the blanket one night, Merlin asked him to tell him a bedtime story. Arthur thought about it for a second before he opened his mouth. 

“Once upon a time, there was a young prince, who was handsome and strong,” Arthur smirked, but Merlin only raised his eyebrows. “he was a very independent person, and he thought he could do everything on his own without anyone else’s help. One day, out of an absurd situation, the prince was saved by a boy who was a bit younger than him.” Merlin probed up his elbow and leaned forward in interest. “Then the king asked the boy to become the prince’s manservant. But the prince did not like the boy at first, because he was not afraid of him and always spoke out what he thought was right. They argued a lot in the beginning, but somehow, the prince still had the boy as his servant. It was unusual, but there was something special about him that the prince didn’t know how to put his fingers on. After a while, the prince became inseparable with his manservant. He took him everywhere, though he still teased him mercifully.” 

“Why did the prince tease him?” Merlin asked through sleepy eyes. 

“Because he was afraid.” Arthur replied simply, causing Merlin to cock his head in confusion. 

“The prince never thought that he would need someone so badly, and when the boy had that effect on him, he freaked out. He thought he was going to lose control and became dependent on him. The boy became so much more to him than a mere servant, and deep down in the prince’s heart, he knew he was in love with the boy.” 

“Did he tell him that he loved him?” Merlin asked with a yawn. 

“No, well, not yet, because the prince was a stubborn prat who always tried to deny his feelings. It was not until the boy disappeared did the prince regret that he had never said to him that he loved him… that… I love him…” Arthur murmured, feeling a lump in his throat. 

He left his head and saw that Merlin was already asleep. He held out his hand and stroked Merlin’s hair gently. 

“Please come back to me Merlin, I need you so much. I want to tell you how much I love you, and how much I need you. Give me another chance, please…” 

Arthur pulled the child into his arms, and his eyes were already full of unshed tears. 

It was late, but he wasn’t tired at all. He knew the chance was probably slim to turn Merlin back, but he would never give up, never to the person that he loved with all his heart. 

 

The next morning, Arthur went to visit Gaius and hoped that he would be able to help with turning Merlin back. So far, Gaius had produced a variety of potions, but none of them worked. 

“It was a powerful ancient magic.” Gaius kept saying, sounding more and more desperate each time. “I can’t find any further information on the totem and the de-aging magic on any books. They must have all been lost during the Great Purge.” 

“Would any of them being lock away in the dungeon?” Arthur asked. 

A lot of magic related things had been either destroyed or confiscated during the Purge. 

“Maybe I can try to look into it?” 

Arthur knew that he was the only one who had the key, and he could just make up an excuse if his father asked him the reason of being in the dungeon. 

“That might work, thank you, sire.” Gaius said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. 

“No, Gaius, thank you.” 

 

When Arthur returned to his chamber to get the key, Merlin was still sleeping soundly. Arthur smiled at him fondly before closing the door. 

The search in the dungeon was much more difficult than he originally thought. Arthur hadn’t been there for years, and all the books and objects were covered with dust and spider webs. It took him the whole morning to find the exact book, which had the totem drawing on one page, but Arthur couldn’t read the language. He also needed to make up a convincing excuse to send the friendly guards away, who were all trying to help him find whatever he wanted. When he finally took the book back, Gaius told him that it was written in the old language, and he would need some time to read it through.


	6. I Have Magic!

Arthur met Gwen at the hall when he was about to go back to his chamber. 

“Sire, here’s Merlin’s clothes.” She held out a pile of clothes. 

“Thank you, Gwen” 

“How’s he?” She asked before turning away. 

“He’s well I think.” Arthur smiled. 

“Tell me if you need anything.” 

“Of course.” 

When Arthur opened the door and looked inside, Merlin was still in bed, though his eyes snapped open immediately when he heard Arthur’s footsteps. 

“Wake up, sleepy head. Look what Gwen made for you. Your very own clothes.” 

Merlin sat up, fumbling through the clothes still half asleep. 

“Here.” Arthur helped him dressed in his new clothes. 

“Artie, you forgot my neckerchief.” Merlin touched his exposed neck. 

“Oh, you’re right. Wait.” 

But before he could get down the bed to reach for the neckerchief on his desk, it flew over and landed on the bed. 

“What…?” Arthur widened his eyes in shock. 

Did he just witness magic? 

Then he heard Merlin giggled and the little boy’s eyes flashed gold. 

The neckerchief flew onto Arthur’s head and covered his face. He gasped and grabbed the neckerchief off his face. 

“Merlin? What have you done?” 

“I have magic, Artie!” He declared happily. 

“No, you don’t, Merlin.” 

“Yes, I do! I’ll show you.” 

Merlin’s eyes flashed gold again and a candle lit up. 

Merlin was a sorcerer? 

That was impossible! All those years he had been on his side… Arthur shook his head in disbelief. 

Merlin was still giggling and lit up another candle with his magic. But his face turned pale when he saw Arthur wasn’t smiling. 

“Artie, what’s wrong?” 

He tried to touch Arthur’s arm, but all Arthur could do is to lean backward in order to avoid the contact. 

Before he could realize, he was already standing outside of his chamber, leaning against a wall, his brain swimming wildly. 

Merlin has magic! Merlin has magic!! _MERLIN HAS MAGIC!!!_

That was all Arthur could think of for the whole ten minutes. When his head started to clear a little, all the questions started to fill his mind. 

Why didn’t Merlin tell him before? He knew magic was outlawed in Camelot, but Arthur thought they trusted each other, and Merlin knew damn well that Arthur was not the same as his father. 

Or did Merlin have other reason hiding his magic ability? Was he seeking revenge like all those sorcerers attacking Camelot? No, Merlin would never do that. 

Arthur was so deep in his thought that he didn’t realize Gaius was talking to him. 

“Sire, sire! I think I found something!” He held the book and stood in front of Arthur. 

“Hmm?” 

“Sire?” 

Arthur suddenly grabbed Gaius’ arm, startled the old physician. 

“Do you know Merlin has magic?” 

‘Magic’ was spoken in a low whisper towards Gaius’ ear. Gaius raised his eyebrows, but didn’t seem surprised at all. 

Arthur narrowed his eyes. “You knew that already.” 

“Yes, sire.” 

He shook his head and sighed. “Why didn’t he tell me?” 

“Camelot forbids…” 

“I know, I know, Gaius, but I thought we trust each other enough.” He leaned against the wall heavily. 

“Merlin trusts you, he just wasn’t sure whether it was the right time to tell you, as magic was being present in such a negative way in Camelot.” 

“I know, but I…” 

“Would you say you’re not afraid when Merlin practices magic in front of you?” 

Arthur thought of just minutes ago, he had scared out of his wits witnessing Merlin practicing magic. He lowered his head guiltily. 

“No, I don’t know… Father always told me magic is evil, and that’s all I saw and believed since birth, but…” 

“Magic is neither good nor evil, it’s the people that practice it give magic meanings. Merlin only uses magic for you, you need to believe that, he never uses it for selfish reasons.” 

“I know.” Arthur nodded. 

He trusted Merlin completely and knew that even though it went against everything he believed regarding magic. 

“What is it you want to tell me earlier?” Arthur looked up. 

“Oh yes, sire, in the book you gave me, there was something on how to break the spell. None of the potions I make will solve the problem I’m afraid, the only way is to travel to this ‘cave’, where the sorcerer who cast this spell lived, in order to reverse it.”

Arthur frowned, it was harder than he thought. 

“This cave… where is it?” 

Gaius looked at Arthur with a shade of embarrassment. 

“I’m not sure yet, sire. I’ll look into that more carefully.” 

Arthur nodded. His head throbbed by all the information he had just received in such a short amount of time. 

 

When he reentered his room, at first glance, Merlin was nowhere to be seen and Arthur panicked. But then he saw the bulge on his bed where Merlin was. 

“Merlin?” 

Arthur walked towards the bed and left the blanket up gently. 

Merlin was sobbing quietly under the cover, his body curled into a small ball. 

“Merlin.” Arthur called again. “Hey, I’m sorry, I overreacted, I didn’t mean to shut you away.” 

But the little boy didn’t react to his words. 

Arthur sighed and pulled him up into his chest. Merlin’s whole body was stiff like a rock, but soon relaxed against him and buried his tear-struck face into Arthur’s chest. 

“I’m sorry, Merlin, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

He rocked him slowly and put his cheek on Merlin’s hair. 

“I’m sorry, Merlin.” 

 

Merlin was unexpectedly quiet the whole afternoon while Arthur read through the documents. He tried to comfort Merlin some more, but thought maybe it was the best to let him be for now. 

 

Arthur had a restless night. 

It was true that he didn’t share the belief that all magic was evil as his father did, but under Uther’s influences since the day he was born, he still felt doubtful about magic in general. Nevertheless, he trusted Merlin completely. It hurt that Merlin never told him about his magic, but Arthur could somehow understand now. 

If their role reversed, would he be able to tell Merlin that he had magic? 

In a place where magic was viewed as evil and the penalty was death? 

He looked over at Merlin’s peaceful sleeping form. He meant too much for Arthur to let this get between them. 

He wanted Merlin to always be who he was.


	7. Arthur and Magic

The next morning Arthur got a sudden news from his father that he needed to go to a nearby village to inspect a case of sorcery. Coincidence or not, Arthur wasn’t sure, but he understood that knowing Merlin had magic and now this coming mission, his view on magic would forever change. 

He sent Merlin to Gaius, but Merlin started to cry when Arthur turned to leave. The sound broke the prince’s heart and he immediately turned back to gather Merlin into his arm. He pressed his head in the crook of Arthur’s neck and muttered something intelligible. 

Arthur looked down at him. “What’s that, Merlin?” 

“You don’t want me anymore…” He spoke between sobs. “Because I have magic…” 

“What kind of nonsense is that, Merlin?” He looked into the little boy’s deep blue eyes. “I promise, Merlin, I’ll never leave you, and… I want you to always be you.” 

Merlin sniffled and Arthur held out his fingers to wipe his tears away. 

After a few more promises, Merlin finally smiled. Arthur put him down on a chair and told him he would be back very soon before joining the knights outside.

 

It was only an hour ride for Arthur and the knights to arrive at the village in question. The village was small and bare; it reminded him of Merlin’s home village, Ealdor. 

When the tents were set, the guards brought in a middle-aged man and hauled him roughly onto the ground. 

“This is the man who was suspected of using sorcery inside Camelot’s Realm.” The guards announced and stepped back. 

The man trembled when he looked up at Arthur. 

“Have you anything to say?” 

“I…” 

“Speak up and address ‘sire’ when given you permission to speak!” Sir Gavin, a more senior knight shouted. 

Arthur gave him a harsh look and a wave of the hand to indicate that he could solve this problem by his own. Sir Gavin constantly questioned the young prince’s ability, and Arthur knew that he often criticized him behind his back. 

“Please speak up.” Arthur said, much softer. 

“Sire… I… I… will not deny that I used magic.” The man said, swallowing hard. “But sire, I was desperate! Our village was being affected by some sort of disease, and only magic could cure them! I can’t watch the people around me die like that without doing something!” The man’s voice cracked. 

Arthur nodded. “I understand.” 

If it were his father, he would immediately kill the man, even though he didn’t use magic to hurt people. 

Arthur decided to ask the villagers whether the man’s words were true or not. After some reassurances, the people finally revealed one by one that the man did save them or their family members via magic. 

He went back to the tent and told the guards to release the man. He thanked Arthur and quickly disappeared. 

“But sire, the king will not approve this! The man used magic! We have proofs!” Sir Gavin protested. 

“My father gave me the authority to look into this case, and I deemed that releasing him was the most proper way to solve the problem.” He countered firmly and the knight didn’t mutter another word after that. 

Arthur knew if his father noticed his decision, he would have hell to pay, but he didn’t care. This was what he believed as right and just. 

‘Magic is neither good nor evil, it’s the people that practice it that give magic meanings.’ Gaius’ words echoed through his mind, and this was the first time Arthur thought he could really face magic and made a fair judgment about it.


	8. Kilgharrah!

When Arthur entered Gaius’ chamber, Merlin ran towards him with a big smile on his face and grabbed Arthur's hand. Arthur laughed and hauled him up. 

“Were you a good boy, Merlin?” 

He then turned to Gaius and the old physician nodded with a fond smile. 

“Sire, about the ‘cave’ I’ve spoken to you about, I looked through all the books I could, but wasn't able to find any further information. I’m very sorry.” 

Arthur nodded, but couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face. 

“Thank you, Gaius.” 

The two went silent. Now there seemed to be no hope to turn Merlin back. At the meantime, Merlin put his chin on the wooden table and looked at the two adults back and forth with an amused smile on his face. 

He suddenly shouted. “Kilgharrah!” 

“What?” Arthur asked. “Who’s Kil… gharrah?” 

Gaius chuckled. “That’s right, sire, Kilgharrah is much more knowledgeable than I am. I suggest you and Merlin pay a visit to him.” 

“Is he someone who holds a position in Camelot?” 

Arthur looked utterly lost, he had never heard of a man with such a weird name. 

“He’s a dragon!” Merlin declared as if he won a jackpot. 

“Dra… gon?” 

Arthur almost fainted if Gaius did not pulled out a chair for him to sit down. 

It took sometimes for Gaius to tell Arthur about the dragon, who had no idea such a creature still existed inside Camelot, he thought his father had killed them all during the Great Purge. He thought it was just a myth that there was still one dragon left. 

 

Using magic to distract the guards, Merlin grabbed the corner of Arthur’s shirt tightly and led him into a dark path. Before Arthur could notice, they were already at the end of the path. In front of them was a gigantic opening space with huge rocks. Merlin called the dragon’s name excitedly, and Arthur heard the sound of wing flapping and chain rattling before a huge dragon landed in front of them on one of the nearest rocks. Arthur automatically shielded his body in front of Merlin, yet the little boy still managed to escape Arthur’s hand and walked closer to the dragon. The dragon had a very deep and rather magnetic voice. 

“Young warlock,” but he quickly cleared his throat, “very young warlock,” And he turned to Arthur, who eyed him with shock and suspicion. “and welcome, the other half of the coin.” 

Arthur looked at him in confusion. 

“We need your help!” Merlin shouted. 

It surprised the prince that Kilgharrah knew exactly what they were seeking for, but he guessed that was the reason why his father was so afraid of the dragons, because they were simply too powerful. 

“The path will start to be clear during the next full moon.” Kilgharrah simply stated. 

Before Arthur could try to ask more, the dragon already flew away. 

Merlin didn’t seem as surprised as Arthur, which made him wondered how many times did Merlin come to visit the Great Dragon exactly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to say thank you for all your kudos and comments! They always made my day <3


	9. Merlin's Magic Trick

The next full moon would be two weeks later, meanwhile, Arthur needed to prepare everything they would need for the journey. 

Knowing that Arthur accepted his magic now, Merlin started to do magic to trick Arthur. He would always pretend to be mad, and pinned Merlin firmly down on the bed. 

Despite the playfulness, he kept reminding Merlin to be careful, not to use magic in front of other people besides a few of them. If Uther knew anything about this, he would definitely kill Merlin without showing the slightest bit of mercy. 

“Why does he hate magic so much, Artie?” 

“I don’t know, I think he is blinded by hatred and could only see magic as bad and evil.” 

“But you’re not your father.” 

“You’re right, Merlin. You let me understood that magic can be good, it all depends on how you use it.” 

Merlin gave him a pride smile. 

“Go to sleep now, it’s late.” 

“Okay.” 

He smiled as Arthur tucked him into the bed.

 

Normally, Arthur left Merlin with Gaius or Gwen when he was unavailable, but that was all he could go. It was too dangerous for him to be anywhere else. Merlin was a nice kid, but even Arthur could see the impatient look on Merlin’s face being coop up in a room twenty-four seven. So Arthur tried to bring all the toys he could get his hands on for him, hoping they would slightly ease the little boy’s boredom, before the two could go out to find the way to turn Merlin back. 

The day before full moon, Uther had summoned a court meeting that needed most of the people in the castle to attend. 

“Will you be alright staying here by yourself? Gaius and Gwen would also need to be present at the court.” 

“Yeah.” Merlin responded simply, didn’t take his eyes away from the wooden toys in his hands. 

“I’ll see you in a few hours?” 

He nodded again and Arthur closed the door to his chamber securely. 

 

At the court, Arthur stood at his father’s side, looking like he was listening to him, but was in fact zooming out to somewhere else. His father was talking about the tax system now, and Arthur nodded absently at the appropriate time. When he heard a sound like a fart coming from his father, he ignored it thinking that he might be mistaken. But then his father started to pause more and more often, Arthur turned his head towards him in confusion. He saw Uther paused again and his face twisted in embarrassment when he farted again. It was a loud and clear one, which unfortunately echoed through the great hall. Arthur was shocked at first, but then he really wanted to laugh, seeing his usual stern father lost a bit of his composure because of a loud fart. He turned his face towards the knights, and saw they were all trying to hide their giggles as he did. 

Uther tried to continue talking like previously, but kept getting distracted by his own loud farts. Despite finding the situation hilarious, Arthur tried to take over his father, after all, he was the king, goddammit, not a clown! But before Arthur could speak, he heard soft giggles coming from the side, then he saw a little black-haired boy poking out his head behind one of the pillars. 

It was Merlin! 

He then saw Merlin’s eyes flashed gold and the king farted again. Arthur tried to gesture Gaius who stood close beside where Merlin was. Uther looked back at his son, and Arthur quickly turned away. Luckily, Gaius seemed to get the hint and turned around spotting Merlin with wide eyes. Merlin giggled when he let Uther farted loudly again. The king turned his head violently towards Merlin’s direction. 

“What’s that?” Uther snapped. 

But he was a bit late, Gaius had already successfully hidden Merlin inside his long robe. Arthur let out a sigh of relief, that was a close one.

 

When Arthur and Merlin got back to their chamber, neither of them spoke a word. Merlin had a worried look on his face, knowing he was clearly in a big trouble. He sat on the bed, shooting sideway glances at Arthur, who was pacing in the room. Then he walked towards Merlin, a serious expression on his face. Then both of them barked out in laughter. 

“That was not nice, Merlin.” Arthur managed to say. 

“I know, Artie, but I can’t help it!”

After they both laughed till their stomachs hurt, Arthur took hold of Merlin’s shoulder. 

“I’m serious, Merlin, it’s dangerous for you to use magic like that.” 

“I’m sorry, Artie.” The little boy lowered his head. 

“Promise me not to use magic unless it’s urgent, alright?” 

“Alright.” He nodded firmly. 

“And I promise you, Merlin, when I become the king, I will legalize magic in Camelot.” 

Merlin nodded again and held out his arms to hug Arthur.


	10. I’ll Never Let Anyone Hurt You

They followed Kilgharrah’s instruction, and started their journey under the full moon. Merlin was very excited, though Arthur wasn’t exactly sure whether he understood this journey’s purpose, maybe he was just glad that he could finally get out of the castle. 

Arthur made up some excuses to his father as he was going to inspect yet another case of a suspect magic user in a further village this time. He knew the king would not question more once he heard about magic and possible sorcerer. 

 

Arthur held Merlin up on the horse. He was way too small to ride his own, although it was possible for Arthur to find him a pony. But in the end, he decided riding with Merlin might be the safest option. He also informed the kitchen staff to cram in as much bread and dried fruit as possible, god knew how long it would take them to arrive at their destination. 

He admitted that he was a bit doubtful of the Great Dragon’s words at first, but when he saw the moon illuminated their path, he finally believed him. The journey was quite unusual, since they traveled by night and rested during the day, but because of Merlin, the whole trip wasn’t that bad at all. Arthur enjoyed telling jokes to Merlin and watched him giggled, or simply looked down at him, seeing his peaceful sleeping face while they rode. 

 

Even though it was morning, it could still be pretty chilly in the fall. They finished their meals and were rolling out their sleeping bags. Arthur tugged Merlin in as usual and the little boy smiled sweetly at him. He patted his cheek fondly and slipped inside his own. It must be only five minutes or so, before Arthur started to feel his eyelids dropping. He heard tiny ruffling noises nearby and immediately moved his hand towards the sword hidden beside, but it was only Merlin, climbing over to him looking sleepy. Arthur immediately sat up. 

“What are you doing, Merlin? You’re going to catch a cold like this!” 

He left the blanket up and shoved Merlin inside. He automatically shuffled closer to Arthur, until their bodies pressed together. 

“I love you, Artie.” Merlin murmured. 

“I love you too, Merlin.” Arthur kissed Merlin’s hair and held the boy closer to him. 

It was weird, the Arthur few months ago would never believe he actually declared his love so naturally to his manservant. He was always the one that kept his feelings inside, especially towards Merlin. He kept joking and teasing him in order to cover up that he actually loved Merlin very much. But this unexpected twist made Arthur realized that it was important to speak out to the person he loved, and he hoped again for the million time that he would be given another chance, and be able to properly declared his love to that Merlin he had come to love so much. 

 

The following two days passed like the previous one, and Arthur began to relax and unconsciously let down his guard. He was asleep with Merlin in his arms when he felt a sharp poke on the side of his body. Before he could grab his sword, it was already too late. 

Six dirty-looking big men, holding all kinds of weapons surrounded them and were slowly closing on them. Arthur was suddenly pulled away by two men before he could get to Merlin. His eyes snapped open when another man grabbed Merlin harshly and he cried out for Arthur. 

“Merlin, Merlin, it’s okay, look at me.” Arthur tried to sooth him across the distance where they were being held apart. 

Another man, seemed like the group’s leader, walked up to Arthur. 

“Well, well, well, look what we got here! Are you going to simply pass here without paying? This is our territory!” The man shouted and his minions made noises in agreement. 

He then grabbed Arthur’s face, and Arthur tried to turn his head away from the man’s bad breath. 

“We have no gold.” Arthur said matter-of-factly. 

Truth to be told, he really had no gold; he didn’t bring it because he knew there was no use. 

“No gold, ah? I don’t believe you.” The man snarled, and he looked back to Merlin. “That little thing means a lot to you, huh? Perhaps breaking his little arm will make you change your mind?” 

He smirked and held out a hand to the man grabbing Merlin. He started to twist Merlin’s arm and the little boy cried out in pain. It was a sound that stabbed right into Arthur’s heart. 

“Stop! Stop! You’re hurting him. Let him go, I’ll give you the gold.” Arthur pleaded desperately. 

The man let go of Merlin. Arthur knew he was gambling, but he would do anything for them to not hurt Merlin anymore. 

“It’s over here.” He walked towards the horse. 

“Wait, stay here!” The bandit leader commanded and jerked his head to the person standing beside. “You go check it.” 

It was only a split second before Arthur knocked down the man searching the bag on his horse and the other nearby. But before he could go further, the leader punched him hard and sent him to the ground. He heard Merlin screaming and the man held up his sword. 

“You ask for this.” 

Arthur thought he was dying and he had failed Merlin, but then the wind, or something very powerful swap through and the sword never did drill a hole into his stomach. He looked around in confusion, all the men were lying around them, unconscious. Then he caught Merlin’s eyes turning back to deep blue at that second, and he ran over to Arthur. 

“Artie!” 

And buried himself into Arthur’s arms. 

He hugged Merlin tightly and was extremely glad that neither of them was hurt. They broke apart and Arthur wiped off the tears on Merlin’s face. 

“You’re hurt, Artie!” 

Merlin exclaimed when he saw some blood at the corner of his mouth. 

“It’s nothing, Merlin,” Arthur inhaled deeply. “thank you for saving me.” 

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you.” 

Merlin said in a mature tone that sounded almost impossible coming from a four-year-old.


	11. The Cave

The next day they spent riding through the woods as usual. 

“Merlin, it’s time to get up.” Arthur said softly and shook the little boy. 

He walked back to prepare the horse and cleaned up their stuff. Merlin was still lying on the ground, making no effort to get up. 

“Merlin, I know you’re tired, but we need to go, alright?” 

Arthur walked closer and sighed. He turned Merlin over and found that his face was extremely red and he had a fever. 

“Merlin?” Arthur gasped in shock. 

Merlin struggled to open his eyes and managed to mumble through gritted teeth. 

“Hurt…” 

Arthur panicked, and saw Merlin moved up his hand towards his chest. The prince took the hint and quickly pulled up the tunic. The totem on Merlin’s chest was glowing softly. Arthur really didn’t know what he should do next. He could take Merlin back, but that would take at least five-day ride, or they could keep going, though he was not sure how long the trip would take for them to finally reach their destination. But the totem was taking effect, he made a wild and hopeful guess that it might be because they were almost near the there, the cave. He really wished that he made the right decision. Gathering Merlin up carefully, Arthur brought him up the horse and comforted him at the same time. 

“Hang on, Merlin, you’ll be okay…” He pushed the little boy's sweaty hair backward. “You’ll be alright…” 

 

Arthur thanked god that he didn’t make the wrong decision after all. 

The horse led them to an entrance of a dark cave and the shining moonlight which helped them indicated the path was immediately gone. Merlin whimpered when Arthur carried him down the horse. He stood in front of the cave hesitantly before breathing in deeply, and walked in. 

The cave was extremely quiet and chilly. The only sound in it was the water dripping and occasionally Merlin’s harsh breathing. The place gave Arthur chills and he wasn’t sure whether they would be able to come out alive not to mention turning Merlin back to an adult. 

“Arthur Pendragon, what a surprise.” 

Arthur immediately recognized the voice; it was that woman. He turned around and saw she put down her hood. 

“I can never dream of Uther Pendragon’s son coming here in person, don’t you have enough already?” 

Arthur swallowed and tried to make his voice steady. 

“Do whatever you want with me, but please turn him back. Merlin has nothing to do with this. The man you want is me.” He said firmly, and felt the woman came closer to him. 

“You’re doing all this for a mere servant?” The woman looked incredulous. 

“Merlin was more than a servant! He means everything to me!” 

Arthur didn’t know where his sudden courage came from, but he didn’t feel afraid anymore. 

“I’m touched, Pendragon. But I’m going to carry out my plan, and since you came here voluntarily, I’ll let you die quickly. A slight change of my plan, but…” She said, shrugging her shoulder. 

“Promise me you’ll save Merlin!” Arthur shouted desperately. 

“How dare you utter the word ‘promise’!” Her voice raised. “Uther Pendragon once made a promise to me, to us magic users, and look what he had done? He killed my son, and I was barely able to escape!” 

“I’m sorry about everything. But I’m not my father, I promise you magic will be legal again once I become the king!” 

“Maybe you are different than your father, but you still need to die, and I’m sorry about your servant.” 

Arthur couldn’t believe he couldn’t at least convince her to save Merlin. 

“Please…” He begged. 

But she didn’t listen, her eyes flashed gold and started to mutter a spell. Arthur held on to Merlin tightly, and felt himself tearing up. 

“I’m sorry, Merlin, I’m so sorry…” 

For a brief second, Arthur thought he was going to die, but somehow, he was still in the cave and in one piece, holding Merlin. 

Then he saw a man, which he recognized as her servant, holding a blunt object, and the woman was lying on the ground in front of him, unconscious. 

Arthur looked up in confusion. “What…?” 

The man walked towards him and gave him a small bottle. 

“Feed this to him, and he’ll turn back once you get back to Camelot.” Seeing Arthur didn’t move, he gestured him again. “You need to go now.” 

Arthur poured the liquid into Merlin’s mouth and walked out of the cave. Before he was completely outside, he turned back. 

“Why do you help us?” 

The servant was holding his mistress up and rested her gently against the stone wall. 

“Since her son was killed, she became bitter and angry. She used to have a kind heart, but now, all she thought of was revenge.” He shook his head sadly. “And I also heard how you’re going to sacrifice yourself for your servant. Perhaps, you are indeed different than your father, and I believe you’ll be a good king.” 

“Thank you for believing me.” Arthur turned his head to look at the unconscious woman. “You’ll be okay when she wakes up?” 

The man nodded. “She’ll be glad that I stop her.” 

Arthur nodded again and went on the horse and rode without stopping until they got back to Camelot. 

 

When they arrived at Camelot, Arthur was exhausted by the long and unstop journey, but he still managed to stay up a little bit longer to undress Merlin. The medicine did indeed take effect. Merlin wasn’t burning up anymore, and the mark on his chest gradually faded away. 

Arthur smiled, he had never been happier. He also made a promise to himself that once Merlin turned back, he would kiss him senseless and told him how much he adored and loved him. Arthur had a big grin when he fell asleep. 

Perhaps it was because he was so happy and excited, he woke up in the early morning, and felt the warmth coming from beside. 

“Merlin?” 

Arthur fumbled up and looked at his side. He shouted excitedly when he saw Merlin was back into a young man again. 

“Merlin!!!” 

He almost wept in joy. Merlin looked so peaceful and innocent in his sleep, and he just wanted to hug him and never let him go. 

“Arthur?” Merlin opened his eyes slowly. 

His eyes suddenly widened and jumped up when he found that he was in Arthur’s bed. 

“Why… why am I in your bed? I’m so sorry!” Merlin stammered. 

Arthur tried to reassure him and kiss him and tell him that it was alright, but somehow, his tongue stuck and he could only watch helplessly as Merlin ran out of his chamber mumbling that he was going to get him breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for all your kind words and support!


	12. That meant I love you, you idiot!

The day went on as usual, or at least on the surface. 

Merlin busied himself with endless chores and assisted Gaius from time to time; Arthur did whatever duties a prince is expected to fulfill. However, he became more and more agitated every day. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t just get his courage up and confess his love to Merlin. Did he already forget the last lesson, in which he almost lost Merlin? How could he not seize this precious second chance instead of acting like this as if Merlin meant nothing more than a servant to him? 

Their usual banter was gone and Arthur felt increasingly uneasy around Merlin. Even Merlin could feel the strained atmosphere between them. 

“Is everything alright, Arthur?” 

Arthur jumped at his words when he pretended to read through the documents while Merlin made the bed. 

“Yeah, of course, why do you ask?” 

“It’s just…” He turned around, a troubled expression on his face. “Did I do something wrong?” 

Arthur’s heart sunk from hearing this. Because of his own fault, Merlin was now blaming himself for Arthur’s weird and unnatural behaviors towards him. 

“No, no, Merlin, it’s just…” 

The prince inhaled deeply. This was his moment, but all it came out was just an excuse of him being extremely tired recently. Merlin nodded knowingly, looking a little sad. 

“Then you should go to bed early tonight.” 

“I will. Goodnight, Merlin.” 

“Goodnight, sire.” 

Arthur wanted to pound his head hard on the desk, because he failed again and now he made Merlin upset. 

 

The next morning, Arthur, Merlin, and several knights went on a hunting trip. It wasn’t a very fruitful day. But before they were going to call it a day, Arthur spotted a beautiful deer and gestured Merlin to pass him the crossbow. Unfortunately, Merlin accidentally tripped over a rock and fell flat on his face, startled the animal. Arthur didn’t know what exactly get into him, but he suddenly lost it. 

“Can you be more stupid and useless, Merlin?” 

Usually, Merlin took those teasings quite well, because the prince never said them in a mean way. But this time, even Arthur himself could feel his own tone, carrying much contempt and impatience. It must had hurt Merlin a lot, because he merely mumbled an apology, and cast his eyes down. Arthur immediately regretted it when the words came out. He was as surprised as Merlin. He felt his inability to confess his love for Merlin turned him into a bitter person and now he was taking it all out on the person he loved the most. It was crazy and Arthur felt very, very bad. 

 

They didn’t talk when Merlin served him dinner. 

“I’m so sorry for what I had said earlier, I didn’t mean to sound so nasty.” 

Merlin shook his head, avoiding his eyes. 

“I know, I’m used to it.” He went out of Arthur’s chamber before the prince could utter another word. 

This just made things worse, because Arthur knew he had hurt Merlin so many times already even though none of them were intentional. This couldn’t go on anymore, he would drive Merlin away if he kept up like this. Tomorrow, he would do it, for himself, but most importantly, for Merlin. 

 

Arthur told Merlin to prepare some food the next morning. He was going to go on a picnic. 

“A picnic? Who are you going with?” Merlin cocked his head to aside. 

“Can’t I go alone?” 

Arthur playfully threw a cushion at Merlin, and he dodged it with a smile. It was good to have their usual banter back. So Merlin packed up all the picnic equipment and rode with Arthur to a forest not far away from Camelot. 

Arthur stood at a spot where he could overlook the beautiful view while Merlin placed all the things down. 

“I think this place is better.” He said as he walked to another side. 

Merlin collected the stuff and moved to where Arthur stood. 

“No, I like the original place.” The prince walked back. 

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Merlin’s face began to turn red, and he pouted when he collected the stuff and once again moved them to where Arthur stood. But before Merlin could mumble another word of complaints, Arthur suddenly jumped on him and the two tumbled down onto the grass. He began to kiss Merlin passionately, hoping that his kisses could replace his inability to convey his true feelings for him. Merlin was startled at first, but he soon melted into Arthur’s kisses and let out little content moans that made Arthur wanted to never stop kissing him. 

It felt like an eternity before they parted; Merlin was all flushed and wide-eyed, his full lips swollen and red. It was such a beautiful sight that Arthur knew he would never get tired of. 

“What was that for?” Merlin panted. 

“That meant I love you, you idiot.” 

Arthur smiled, he finally said it!!! It wasn’t as hard as he thought actually. 

“Prince Arthur is in love with me?” Merlin gasped in disbelief. 

“I can’t believe that myself.” Arthur pretended to be cool. 

“I can’t believe I fell in love with a prat either since the first day I saw him.” 

Arthur looked at him in surprise. 

“You fell in love with me the minute you saw me? I thought you hated me.” 

Merlin’s face reddened, and he looked absolutely adorable. 

“Okay, I did hate you at first, but you’re kind of sexy, so…” 

Arthur smirked and pinned Merlin down again. Their body pressed together. 

“Just a little?” 

“Well, you’re bloody sexy, alright?” 

“That’s more like it.” 

They kissed some more before Arthur felt Merlin gently pushed him away. 

“Is everything alright, Merlin?” He asked worriedly. 

“Arthur, if we are going to start this…” He gestured between the two. “I need to tell you something. I don’t want to have secrets between us anymore.” 

He knew what Merlin was going to talk about, but he just waited for his new lover to go on. 

“I… I have…” Merlin stammered. 

“You have magic.” Arthur helped him finished the sentence. 

“You know?” 

“Of course I do.” 

“When?” 

“Well, a few weeks ago?” 

“You aren’t mad at me, are you?” Merlin asked and Arthur detected his insecurity. 

“No, Merlin, I’m just a little hurt that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me.” 

“I’m sorry, Arthur.” 

He lowered his head, but Arthur immediately tilted his head up with gentle fingers under Merlin’s chin. 

“No, Merlin, I understand. I don’t know what I’ll do if I have magic.” 

“Arthur, if your father found that you and I…” 

He shook his head. “He’ll never find out, I’ll protect you, I promise. And I’ll tell you this, I’m not my father, and I finally understood that magic is neither good nor bad, it’s how the person uses it that gives it meanings. When I become the king, the ban on magic would be lifted.” 

Merlin looked at him in slight disbelief, but then smiled and buried his head in Arthur’s chest. 

“I know you’ll be the greatest king ever.” 

“And I’ll be the greatest lover for you too, Merlin.” 

He kissed Merlin’s hair, and heard Merlin whispering. 

“I love you, Arthur, so much.” 

 

It had been quite a roller coaster ride these past few months, but Arthur was extremely glad that everything turned out well. The event changed his view on magic and he was finally, finally able to confess his true feelings towards Merlin. Arthur could smell the grass and flowers around them with Merlin asleep curled up in his arms. He looked forward to the bright future where Merlin would be beside him, not as a manservant, but as his lover, the most important person in his life. 

The End <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me towards the end!! I appreciate all the kudos and lovely comments :) Hope you enjoy this fic and will check out my other stories as well (more to come soon). See you next time <3


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